1. Field
The disclosure relates to electronic circuit design, and in particular, to the design of quadrature frequency dividers.
2. Background
In the art of electronic circuit design, a frequency divider receives an oscillatory input signal and generates one or more oscillatory output signals that are divided down in frequency. A quadrature frequency divider (or “quadrature divider”) generates at least two output signals which have a quadrature phase relationship with respect to one another. Quadrature dividers are used in wireless communication systems to, e.g., generate signals to be mixed with a received signal for down-conversion in a receiver, or with a signal to be transmitted for up-conversion in a transmitter.
The design of quadrature dividers for modern wireless communication devices presents various challenges, including the requirement to operate with a low supply voltage and minimal power consumption to increase the battery life of the communication device. It would be desirable to provide low-voltage, low-power techniques for designing quadrature frequency dividers.